Ag News

Perdue and Perdue tour Georgia ag locations

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and Sen. David Perdue visited Georgia ag locations and heard from a variety of agricultural stakeholders on July 13.

The visit to their home state included stops at Lewis Taylor Farms in Tifton, the Georgia Forestry Association Headquarters in Macon and UGA’s turfgrass and weed science research facilities at the university’s Griffin campus.

“We heard directly from stakeholders about the unique challenges they face. I’m hopeful we’ll get a farm bill to the president’s desk soon, that will provide farmers with certainty and help rural America thrive,” David Perdue said.

At Taylor Farms, the senator and secretary participated in a roundtable discussion with southwest Georgia agriculture leaders.

At the Griffin stop, the Perdues heard from UGA Griffin campus leaders and toured the turfgrass greenhouse to see research centering on numerous grass varieties. They also stepped inside the USDA’s Plant Genetic Resources Conservation Unit, which stores more than 1,600 plant species from around the world.

They fielded questions about tariffs and the farm bill during a session with the media at the Griffin stop. Both acknowledged that farmers will suffer significant economic hardships as a result of the tariffs levied by other nations in response to U.S. tariffs on imports.

“Tariffs are a short-term tool for a long-term purpose,” Secretary Perdue said. “That’s to level the playing field. We applaud President Trump for taking on this issue of unfairness. It’s going to take some short-term pain and discomfort for our ag producers with the prices, but we believe the long-term benefits will be better as we get reciprocal trade arrangements. I know the president is ‘America first’ and will be wanting to make sure American producers do well.”